Happy Holidays!

In the week leading up to the holidays, we were rather busy with celebrations in 4B. We celebrated Ye Won's time at MKIS and had a going-away party for her. We all wish her well, as she moves back to Korea. She will certainly be missed in 4B, and at MKIS!

We met up with our buddies and decorated cookies as we read holiday books. All students enjoyed this time with their buddies, and had a lot of fun decorating and eating cookies!

Finally, a great big THANK YOU goes out to all of the parents who helped make our class party on Friday the 20th a huge success. We had a delicious lunch spread, cookies to decorate, a traditional Italian cake, a musical performance by Liam on the violin, photos of the kids at the orphanage receiving their school supply gifts from our class, and gifts from Santa for everyone to unwrap. It was a great way to wrap up the first half of the school year, and send everyone off on a great holiday. Thank you to everyone who helped make our week run smoothly. It would not have been possible without all of your help!

You can see class party pictures here. There are also many other pictures added to our collection. Please visit the photos page to see more pictures of students over the past few weeks!

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As the holiday celebrations start to wind down, and you find yourself with a few weeks worth of vacation left, you might be wondering what your child can do to fill their time! Some suggestions are listed below, for your reference.

Current Event presentation: The new planner for this was handed out before the holidays. Students can be working on their next current event presentation over the holiday and present when they get back. Their term 2 presentation is due by the middle of March, but it might be ideal to get this finished earlier than later!

Book Report: Students also have a book report due by the middle of March. They may want to work on this project over the break as well (a 3 paragraph report- a summary, a favorite part and why, and their overall opinion and why) accompanied by some sort of visual. In the first round of presentations, we had poems, posters, movie trailers, games, mini books, and many other creative ideas. I look forward to seeing what the students come up with this round!

Read to Feed Reading: Students were presented with the opportunity to read for a cause over the holidays. They have the form to collect sponsors and record their reading each day. Money and forms for this is due the week we get back from the holiday. Any donations are helpful, as it all goes towards helping a family get started for the future. Find out more about the program Read to Feed through the following link. *A recommended amount of reading is around 20-30 minutes a day.

IXL:  Students may want to stay sharp with their math skills. An easy way to continue to practice skills we have already covered is through the use of IXL. Students can work on any skills from the sections A-H and K-M.

Reading Reflections: As students are likely spending time reading over the break, they may also want to take some time to "stop and jot" or record their thoughts or questions on post-it notes. They may also want to work on some reading reflections, which can be done in their Reader's Notebook, or online, in their Google Drive.

Message regarding new Chromebooks:

In January, the ES will have new Chromebooks and/or iPads in the classrooms.  In order to maximize their usefulness we would like each student to bring headphones to school starting in January.  These headphones will stay at school and be used by your child for listening activities tied to the curriculum. For your convenience the school store will have earbuds and over the ear headphones available when school starts back in January.  Of course, if you already own a set of headphones feel free to send those in. 

Library: The MKIS library will be open from 8-12 Monday through Friday during the break. The exceptions are public holidays: Dec.25, Jan.1, Jan.2, Jan.14, and for Thaipusam. During the holidays, either Ms. Santha or Ms.Maria will be working in the library.

Safe travels over the break, and best wishes to you all as you ring in the New Year!

The holidays are very near!!

The students of Grade 3 and 4 should be very pleased with their performances at the music concert this past week. They did a great job, showing off their dancing skills, as well as their singing and musical talent. I am sure that you are all very proud of them as well!

  

This past week, students have been working on learning how to code computer games. This "Hour of Code" is being promoted by Computer Science Education Week. See the attached link for more information. http://csedweek.org/  

Parents are reminded about the class Christmas party this Friday, Dec. 20th. Everyone is invited to join us at 12:20 for some holiday celebrations! 

There are several messages to be shared, from many areas of the school community. Please read through the notes below so that you do not miss anything that is coming up! 

Fun Fair 2014: 
         Dear Parents,

It’s time to get together and start preparing for the biggest, most popular community event at M’KIS - Fun Fair 2014! Trang and I would like to invite all parents who are keen to get involved, in ways small or big, this coming Tuesday, December 17, from 8:30-9:30am in the Activities Room (one floor below the Theatre, in the Language Wing).

We will be showing pictures of the past years’ events, and talking through the various opportunities for parent involvement:

- Planning / Committee Chairs

- Food Vendors

- Entertainment (M’KIS Idols, Student Dance Group etc)

- Silent Auction

- Logistics

- Communication

- Signage

- Retail Vendors

- Student Charity Groups (we pay various groups in return for students coming to run many of the games on the day)

- Outsourced Games

- Ticket & Token Sales

- Finance

- Used Books Sale

- Sponsorships

- Dodgeball Game

Our aim is to put together a sizeable team for volunteers before year end, so work can commence end Jan once we’re all back from the holidays. There’s also great binder and thumb drive packed with useful information for each of the sub-committees to work with so that no-one will need to reinvent the wheel, though parents are always most welcome to make improvements and contribute their own ideas.

The more people get involved, the better - please share with your friends at M’KIS and come to find out how you can be involved in creating a really fun event for your kids and our community to enjoy.

Hope to see you there!

Love and Logic Parenting Classes Beginning in January!

       MKIS Counselors Kalei Brumsickle and Ellen Thomas will be facilitating Love & Logic parenting classes beginning in January 2014. Love and Logic helps parents raise responsible kids by offering specific strategies, tool & techniques, and the actual words to say.  The basic premise is that all children make mistakes, and as parents it is important to allow our children to make mistakes and learn from them while they are young and the stakes are low.  The class teaches parents to “lock in our empathy, love and understanding” prior to telling the kids what the consequences will be, so that the child sees the parent as the “good guy”, and their poor decision as the “bad guy”. When done on a regular basis, kids develop an internal voice that says, “I wonder how much pain I’m going to cause myself with my next decision?”  Kids who develop this internal voice become more capable of making good choices and standing up to peer pressure. The method uses humor, hope, and empathy to build up the adult/child relationship, emphasizes respect and dignity for both children and adults, provides real limits in a loving way, and teaches consequences and healthy decision making.

       The Love and Logic parenting classes will begin on Tuesday, January 28th.  The first five classes are targeted for parents with newborn children through the age of 6, and the second seven classes are targeted for parents with children ages 7 through teen.  However, many parents attend all 12 classes regardless of their children’s age.  The birth to age six class will be held each Tuesday beginning January 28th from 8:45 am – 10:45 am.  (Specific dates for the first five sessions are January 28^th, February 4th, 12^th (this is actually a Wed. due to a scheduling conflict on Tues.), 18th and 25^th).  The second Love and Logic class for parents with children ages 7 through teen will be seven sessions beginning on Wednesday March 4th from 8:45 – 10:45 am.  (Specific dates for these sessions are March 4^th, 11^th, 18^th, 25^th and April 8^th, 15^th and 22^nd). The cost is 50 rm for one session or rm 80 for both, which includes the workbook(s). To sign up, please see Ms. Guna in the elementary office.  Hope to see you there!


Reading Comprehension Workshop for PARENTS:
MKIS is delighted to announce an upcoming parent workshop on Reading Comprehension Strategies by Susan Zimmermann on February 7th from 1:00-3:00. If you would like to attend, please email Ms. Karen Wong at karenwong@mkis.edu.my and provide her with your name, and your child's grade level. For more information please see the Link.


Library over the holidays:
Just to let you know, the library will be open open 8-12 Mon-Fri during the break. If you are around, stop in to get some books to read over the holiday.


Track and Field Event:

The PE Department is busy planning a track and field event for your children and needs your help!

Dear Parents,

The Elementary Track and Field Carnival for Grades 2 – 5 will be taking place on

Thursday, January 30th 2013

10am – 12 noon for Grades 2 and 3

1pm – 3pm for Grades 4 and 5

This is planned as a fun event to build on our wonderful school spirit and to help identify athletes for our elementary track and field team.

Each class has been allocated a team color and the children are encouraged to come to school on Friday indicating their team color by way of tee shirts, hats or hair ribbons. 

TEAM COLORS ARE:

RED	BLUE	YELLOW	GREEN
2 Rachel Silberstein	2 Elizabeth Keogh	2 Jennifer Newcome	2 Janelle Schmidt
3 Tim Gascoigne	3 Scott Carpenter	3 Pat Carrelli	3 Lynn Townley
4 Sue Arin	4 Lindsay Mountain	4 Michelle Miller	4 Chad Hauser
5 Mary Black	5 Jen Heal	5 Caitlin Early	5 Ryk Newcombe
	5 C. Gilbertson Purple

We need parent helpers for this event.  A sheet has been placed on each classroom door for parents to volunteer. YOU WILL ONLY BE REQUIRED TO HELP OUT AT YOUR CHILDS GRADE LEVEL CARNIVAL.

On Thursday your child will need to bring to school their hat, water bottle, the correct colored shirt,  sunscreen and bug spray or patch.

If you have any further queries please contact Mike Mitchell, Richard Hastings, or Andy Hill via email: m.mitchell@mkis.edu.my;  r.hastings@mkis.edu.my;  or a.hill@mkis.edu.my

Looking forward to seeing you at the carnival,

Yours Sincerely,

M.Mitchell, R Hastings,and A. Hill

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale... you do not want to miss it!!

Kuala Lumpur has an amazing book sale each year, just before Christmas, and it is starting today! If you are looking for great gifts or a book for your own reading (or a cook book, etc), this is a sale you do not want to miss... COUNTLESS titles are on sale, 75-95% off... Take a minute to browse the link below to get more information, but this is something you do not want to miss!!
Book Sale
If you do go, I recommend that you go in the morning, as it can get quite crowded...

Happy Shopping!

December has begun...

Well, it is officially December!

First of all, this message is a bit over due, but I would like to take a moment and welcome Ruhi and her family to our 4B class. She joined us a few weeks ago and has been fitting in quite nicely to our MKIS family. We are happy to have her here with us!

A big thank you goes out to Tanya for organizing the donations to the Myanmar Refugees, and also thank you to all of you who sent in donations. I know that these school supplies will make many children very happy!

Over the past few weeks, we have been quite busy in several areas. We have been familiarizing ourselves with our Google Drive, using shared Docs. and creating folders to organize our work.  We have also created a Google Map as a class. In the library, Mrs. Hritzuk showed us how to use the Ipads with to watch book trailers, by scanning QR codes. We have also been busy practicing for our upcoming Music concert!

Language Arts:
We have been reading the book, "The Tiger Rising," by Kate DiCamillo. We have been working on our inferencing skills while we read. Student have been developing their ability to "read between the lines." The next step is to ensure that they are doing this while students read their own books each evening or in class. Students have also been working on developing their word choice. We have been working in groups to improve our descriptions of characters and their actions as we read through the book "Crickwing" by Janell Cannon. 4B students have proven to quite creative, and have enjoyed using Google Docs. to collaborate and get their ideas down in writing. Take a look to see their creative writing... Group1   Group2   Group3   Group4

Students are reminded to be using post-it notes to jot down their thoughts as they read each night. Getting their ideas in writing will help them with developing their reflections each week. Students now have the option of writing their reflections online, using the template shared with them in their Google Drive.

Math: 
Along with continuing to work on their multiplication and division facts, students have been introduced to algebra. This has proven to be a challenging concept, but as long as students remember to follow the "Order of Operations," or BEDMAS, they have proven to be quite successful. Leading up to the holiday, we will continue to work on multiplication, (one-digit and two-digit problems) and also long division, which can be rather difficult. It is essential that students are trying their nightly homework, and reinforcing their understanding of these skills with IXL each night, as the concepts will only continue to get more and more difficult.

Science:
We have been doing research about various volcanoes around the world. Students compiled their research on a shared document in their drive. Once they had gathered the information on their chosen volcano, they transferred that information to a Google Map, which can be see by clicking on the following link. Please encourage your child to explain the process they had to follow to complete this assignment and to describe their volcano, as well as those that have been shared by their classmates. Some students even went one step further and added information about significant earthquakes. They should be very proud of their work on this assignment, and their steadily improving use and understanding of technology.


Other details:
Recently, I have noticed that many students have been lugging old papers back and forth in their homework folders. Please take a moment and help your child rid their homework folder of irrelevant papers. This should be done on a regular basis so that parents do not miss out on important papers that go home!

Also, I have added an "Important Dates" page to our blog. If you are unsure about what is coming up in the next few weeks or months, please take a look. Also, if you notice that I am missing something important, please let me know and I will add it to our blog so that everyone can be reminded!

**As an additional fundraiser for the MCF, a Festive Season lunch will be held on Friday Dec. 13th from 11am-2pm in the MPR at MKIS (near the pool). Food will be provided and carols will be performed by the Grade 4 and 5 students. Tickets are 55RM, and will be sold Dec. 6th, 9th and 10th in the breezeway before and after school.